As memberships in travel clubs, like Coastal Vacation Club and Prestige Travel Club increase, many are turning to lifetime travel memberships to save up to 74% off their travel for life.
Here is a list of 10 things to look out for if you are considering joining any vacation travel club.
1. Licensed and bonded travel vendors
Make sure your club uses licensed and bonded vendors. These are recognized by the state they do business in, and will make sure you are dealing with real and legit travel agencies who want to see your satisfaction as priority one.
2. No time share gimmicks, sales presentations or tours
Many vacation club vendors are veiled time-share pitch fests. You are required to attend long sales presentations just to use or activate some of the discount portions of your trips. Make sure tours are not required as a pre-requisite for activating a trip or staying in a condo.
3. Years in service
Vacation clubs can crop up in an instant by some “slick willy’s” just to make a fast buck, and they sell you something that is not originally what it seemed and before you realize it and try to get your money back, they are gone, off to the next deal. So make sure you look closely to see if the Club has an guides info track record of industry credibility and integrity.
4. BBB Reports
Do your due diligence on the travel clubs, looking through scam reports and BBB reports. You’ll find many independent agents represent the “mother” travel club and they can be unscrupulous, while the parent company acts responsibly, so take note that individual resellers might have a bad track record, while the parent company has a spot less record. Stay away from problematic vendors.
5. Terms and conditions of use: Holidays, Singles/married couples, blackout dates
Many travel clubs often limit availability to non-holidays, or have blackout days. One vendor I know of, for example, will not let you travel 7 days before or after a major holiday. Since there are major holidays almost every month, you are missing 14 days a month or around 160 days a year which are off-limits. So make sure you know the terms and conditions, age limits, and if those traveling must be 2 married couples or if the trips apply to singles.